How Can Marketing Overcome Social Pressures

How Can Marketing Overcome Social Pressures

How Can Marketing Overcome Social Pressures

It is no secret that the NFL is dealing with quite a bit of unwelcomed negative press these past few weeks. The fallout of the high profile scandals that have rocked the NFL are not just fan deep. Major sponsors have pulled their support in lieu of these incidents. While some firms can make an easy choice to pull their advertisements, that choice is not so clear for all companies. Most major sponsors have voiced disapproval, with Budweiser beer maker Anheuser-Busch saying it is "increasingly concerned" about the situation (Anderson, 2014). So how can a marketing manager of a firm overcome the pressure from society and the “do the right thing” mentality and maintain its current marketing scheme during such turbulent times? And how do firms deal with this social responsibility?

Who is affected? And how?

Manish Tripathi, assistant marketing professor at Emory University, said: "You're talking now about a specific promotion or campaign geared toward women, anything that is negatively associated with NFL right now gets exacerbated with a campaign like that” (Anderson, 2014). Social responsibility is defined as a firm’s obligation to improve its positive effects on society and reduce its negative effects (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2014). Many different people may have a stake in the effects – and social consequences – of the choices made (Perreault et. al, 2014). Those stakeholders, with respect to NFL sponsors and campaigns are:

1. Consumers/Buyers – Consumers can be a major influence, both giving opinion as well as on the receiving end of a marketing campaign. If they feel that the company is not responding in the “correct” way, they will be more inclined to boycott that item, and even use social media to voice negative feelings. Consumers like to see companies, in which they purchase certain products and services, show genuine concern.

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